graham cracker crust – Dorm Bakery

If you are searching for the perfect Valentines dessert, you have reached your destination. This month’s pie is not exactly a pie, it’s kind of a cheesecake…but it’s also not exactly a cheesecake, it’s kind of a pie…Either way it is more decadent than any love potion and more desirable than an arrow in the heart from cupid. The idea for this pie, as most of my random baking epiphanies hit me, came to me one night as I was lying in my bed preparing to slumber. I couldn’t get chocolate covered strawberries out of my head, and then I just got this notion–a baking notion–a pie baking notion–and I wondered what about a chocolate covered strawberry pie?! I was quick to recognize the brilliance of this conception, but also quick to tell myself to reevaluate in the morning once my wits were about me. Morning came, and it was still a stroke of magnificence, the only trouble was figuring out exactly what Chocolate Covered Strawberry Pie was. I had many different ideas for what this could become (some of which I will hopefully attempt later…), but I decided to go with a sort of chocolate cheesecake base, with layers of chocolate dipped strawberries, all in a graham cracker crust. This was my first time making cheesecake, but I didn’t let that stop me.

Here’s the recipe I ended up with for the cheesecake mixture:

In saucepan heat ¼ C heavy whipping cream and ¼ C chocolate chips. Remove from heat once melted.
Beat 1 ½ 8-oz bars of cream cheese with ½ C sugar and ¾ of a can of condensed milk, add 1/3 C of cocoa powder add 3 eggs. Stir in 1 tsp vanilla extract and cooled chocolate mixture.
Be sure to blend well. (This was a little difficult without a mixer, but I did my best with a spatula and my hands).

Then I sliced a container of strawberries and, with some help, dipped half in milk chocolate and half in dark chocolate. Next I layered together the strawberries and the cheesecake in the graham cracker crust and baked it all for 45-50 min at 325.

Once it was finished baking it had to refrigerate overnight. We got a little excited though and took it out early to try some. It turned out tremendously. I couldn’t have hoped for an experiment to go any better. It also made me all the more excited to try my other chocolate covered strawberry ideas! So whether you’re baking solo, for your Valentine, or for a whole host of ‘Galentines’ this is a perfect pie for the occasion.

Ingredients

1-1/2 cups miniature marshmallows
1 tub (8 oz.) frozen non-dairy whipped topping, thawed and divided
Additional whipped topping or sweetened whipped cream (optional)

2 tablespoonsplus 1/4 cup milk, divided
1 packaged chocolate crumb crust (6 oz.)
1 cup HERSHEY’S SPECIAL DARK Chocolate Chips, divided

In my recipe we use a combination of milk and dark Dove Chocolates. We also use a graham cracker crust, but I’m sure chocolate crumb would be tasty too.

Directions

1. Place 1/3 cup chocolate chips and 2 tablespoons milk in microwave-safe bowl. Microwave 30 seconds at MEDIUM (50%); stir. If necessary, microwave an additional 15 seconds at a time, stirring after each heating, until chips are melted and mixture is smooth when stirred. Spread on bottom of crust. Refrigerate while preparing next step.

2. Place marshmallows, remaining 2/3 cup chocolate chips and remaining 1/4 cup milk in small saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until marshmallows are melted and mixture is well blended. Transfer to separate large bowl; cool completely.

3. Stir 2 cups whipped topping into cooled chocolate mixture; spread 2 cups mixture over chocolate in crust. Blend remaining whipped topping and remaining chocolate mixture; spread over surface of pie.